stridency
Grating vocal quality
Stridency is the quality of being strident—harsh, loud, and grating.
The word describes sounds that cut through unpleasantly: the stridency of the alarm.
More often it characterizes aggressive insistence in tone or manner: the stridency of her demands, political stridency.
The term usually implies excess—forcefulness that alienates rather than persuades.
High-pitched and harsh
- piercingPenetrating or very sharp
- gratingCrossed bars or harsh
- screechingMaking harsh high sounds
- earsplittingExtremely, painfully loud
rasping · screaming · squawking · shrillness · shrieking · keening · wailing · blaring
Forceful emotional passion
- forcefulnessPowerful assertive quality
- insistenceUnyielding demand for something
- aggressivenessForceful, hostile disposition
- militancyCombative advocacy stance
shrillness · belligerence · combativeness · dogmatism · zealotry · uncompromising · intransigence · adamance
Art of controversial argument
- diatribeBitter, prolonged verbal attack
- harangueAggressive lengthy scolding
- tiradeExtended angry speech
- invectiveAbusive denunciation
shrillness · bombast · vitriol · denunciation · inflammatory · provocative · hectoring · ranting
Harsh, clashing sounds
- discordanceConflicting elements together
- clashViolent disagreement or collision
- jangleDiscordant metallic ringing
- disharmonyAbsence of agreement
inharmonious · off-key · jarring · grating · unmusical · noise · raucousness · clashing
shrill
High-pitched and harsh
- piercingPenetrating or very sharp
- gratingCrossed bars or harsh
- screechingMaking harsh high sounds
earsplitting · rasping · screaming · squawking · shrillness · shrieking · keening · wailing · blaring · jarring
vehemence
Forceful emotional passion
- forcefulnessPowerful assertive quality
- insistenceUnyielding demand for something
- aggressivenessForceful, hostile disposition
militancy · shrillness · belligerence · combativeness · dogmatism · zealotry · uncompromising · intransigence · adamance · pugnacity
polemics
Art of controversial argument
- diatribeBitter, prolonged verbal attack
- harangueAggressive lengthy scolding
- tiradeExtended angry speech
invective · shrillness · bombast · vitriol · denunciation · inflammatory · provocative · hectoring · ranting · editorializing
cacophony
Harsh, clashing sounds
- discordanceConflicting elements together
- clashViolent disagreement or collision
- jangleDiscordant metallic ringing
disharmony · inharmonious · off-key · jarring · grating · unmusical · noise · raucousness · clashing · unpleasant
- cacophonycacophony, discord, dissonance, din, noise
- powerauthority, electric power, nuclear power, solar power, wind power
- volumecubic meters, bulk, cubic feet, quantity, cubic inches
- harshnessseverity, roughness, sternness, sharpness, hardness
- militancymilitancy, extremism, radicalism, fanaticism, zealotry
stridencysoftness
Yielding to gentle pressure
quietness · gentleness · whisper · mellowness · mildness
stridencymoderation
Avoidance of excess
restraint · subtlety · gentleness · mildness · diplomacy
stridencymellowness
Soft, relaxed quality
mellifluousness · smoothness · dulcet tones · sonorousness · harmoniousness